


A Step to the Right

by Cup_aTea



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Incubus Clint, M/M, Succubi & Incubi, Vampire Phil Coulson, mentions of Clint Barton/Brock Rumlow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-09-27 05:32:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9976874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cup_aTea/pseuds/Cup_aTea
Summary: Clint Barton gets bitten by an incubus and is dragged into a world he never knew existed, where vampires, succubi and other supernatural beings live side by side with humans.Phil Coulson finds a newly turned incubus abandoned in an alley and convinces him to come to Shield, a safe haven for supernatural beings in a world where the balance of power is delicate between humans and magic.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Chrysalis](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7251016) by [Meatball42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball42/pseuds/Meatball42). 



> I don't think any additional tags are needed, but this is the traditional 'human turned into a supernatural creature against their will' setting. If you see anything that needs tagging, let me know.
> 
> Indirectly inspired by [Chrysalis by Meatball42.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7251016) This doesn't take place in the same world or anything like that (although I may someday ask that author if I could write something in their universe), but I love it and I have a similar sense of urban supernaturalness. Go give that story some love.

The weather was rapidly shifting from pleasantly cool to chilly as it was wont to do in autumn. Phil was cursing the neckline of his jacket and wishing he had brought a scarf when his nose caught a wayward scent. It was faint and yet… Phil knew the smell of a newly turned super and there was no reason he should be able to smell it on a city street. He turned and followed his nose through the streets until he caught up with the source of it in an alley. 

A young man was standing there. He had his arms wrapped around himself and his eyes were unfocused. He was dressed for a night out, a vest layered over his tshirt, unlaced combat boots on the outside of his jeans, with his pale hair arranged in the messily artful style young people favored these days. The scent of his cologne was being overpowered by the ripening scent of his turning, but there was no Sire or Dam in sight. Phil sighed.

The young man startled and turned in his direction. “Hello?”

Phil stepped out of the shadows, though he doubted it made much difference to this one. “Hello. Are you all right?”

“I…I…”

“Are you waiting for anyone?” Phil asked.

“No. Why would I be waiting for someone?” The young man scowled, but it was belied by the trembling in his limbs.

“Maybe the person who brought you here?”

“Nobody brought me here. I don’t know how I got here. First I was behind the bar and then a while later I was here.” The man was shaking outright now.

“Ok, I believe you,” Phil said soothingly. “Is it ok if I come a little closer?”

The man nodded. He was very beautiful, Phil thought, despite the change he was fighting. 

“My name is Phil,” he said. “What’s yours?”

The young man eyed him distrustfully, but shrugged and said, “Clint.”

“Clint, I know that something’s happening to you. A change that you’re probably feeling in every inch of your body. You may have gotten close to somebody in that bar or maybe someone tried to bite you?”

“Oh, that motherfucker bit me all right. Said he wanted a quickie out back and then—“ Clint’s hand went to the back of his neck.

“May I see it?” Phil asked. The young man turned.

The back of his neck was a mess. The bite was still open and unhealing, which meant that the Sire had ignored it. Sure the young man may have tried to get away, but he would have been in no position to really do so. This was blatant lack of care.

“Clint, do you know who did this to you?” Phil said quietly.

“Hell yeah I do,” Clint said. “Brock Rumlow. That asshole said he just wanted a handjob, maybe a blowjob, and then he…then he…”

Phil’s stomach tightened at the name. Now that he knew, he could see Brock’s work all over it. Fury never should have allowed an undisciplined thrill-seeker like that to enroll at the local college. But he forced his attention back onto Clint. The young man was fighting the change, but his body was also seeking its sire to latch onto. If one of those urges wasn’t resolved soon, Clint would die.

“Clint, will you let me take you to someone who can help you?” he said.

“Why would I got anywhere with you? Who the hell are you, anyway?”

“I know what you’re going through because I went through something similar. I know it doesn’t make much sense right now, but you’re changing into something new. Brock Rumlow is incubus, and by biting you, he made you one too.”

“That’s crazy,” Clint said, but he was swaying closer to Phil. In another situation, Phil would have been gratified for the attention from such a pretty young man, but he could feel it was the pull of the imprint, wanting to be fulfilled. And that was something Phil refused to give in to. He needed to get the man help.

“It sounds that way, if you’ve never met supernatural creatures before,” he said. “But I promise we’ve been all around you. Mostly we try to avoid involvement with humans, but that’s something you’re not going to be able to do now.”

“And you’re one of these incubuses too?” Clint said. He was gasping for breath, and Phil considered the consequences of just grabbing him and moving him to safety.

“No, I’m a vampire. But our species have a lot in common. I want to help you, Clint. You need to imprint on someone and soon, or your body won’t be able to handle the changes.”

“Imprint?”

“Form a bond with someone who can keep you safe through the turning and guide you into your new life. Usually the person who turns you does it, but I don’t think that’s a good idea in this case.”

“No,” said Clint, shaking his head and almost losing his balance.

“You have to choose someone soon or you won’t survive the change.”

“You?” Clint said. Once again he listed towards Phil, his body already intent on imprinting on its sire.

“No, Clint.”

“But—“

“I don’t take fledges, Clint. But I can take you to someone who does, somewhere you’ll be safe.”

“I…” the young man hesitated, and Phil fought the urge to drag him away, permission be damned.

“Clint? Does your body feel like it wants to run and fight and fly all at once? Does your blood feel like it’s turning to fire in your veins? Like it will burn you up from the inside out?”

“Yes…” Clint said uncertainly.

“It will. It will consume you until you’re a raging desperate animal and then it will kill you. Let me take you to someone who can help you. Someone who can keep you alive.”

“Please,” said Clint, and he stumbled forward.

Phil caught him and pulled him back into the shadows. He shadow stepped from the alley right into Nick’s office at Shield’s headquarters. 

“Dammit, Cheese, you almost made me lose my coffee.” Nick was behind his desk in his usual black coat and holding a latte that he carefully set on his desk.

Phil didn’t waste any time snarking back. Instead, he pushed Clint in Fury’s direction.

“I found a fledge that needs your help,” he said.

“What the hell, Cheese.”

Clint was looking around wide-eyed at the new room. “What is this place? How did we—?”

“This is Shield,” Nick said seriously. He sat up to take a look at Clint. “We’re a safe haven for the supernatural and the oddities. Welcome.”

“This is Clint,” Phil said. “He needs a Sire, Nick. He was abandoned. The bite was never healed and his body is about to start rejecting the change.”

“Do we know who his sire is?”

“Rumlow,” said Phil shortly.

Nick growled low and deep in his chest.

“Clint, I’m sorry for what’s happened to you,” Nick said. “I don’t think Rumlow is a fit Sire for anyone, and I can’t recommend him especially if he abandoned you. Would you take me as your Sire in his place?” 

“Do I have a choice?” Clint said scornfully. Phil once more admired the bluster given how he was clearly feeling the effects of the bite.

“Yes. The other choice is to die in agony, so it’s not much of one,” Nick said honestly. 

“Yeah, no,” said Clint.

“It doesn’t have to be me. I can ask Rogers or Romanoff to do it if you’d rather have a prettier face,” Nick said, with a gesture at the eye patch.

“Your face doesn’t bother me,” Clint said slowly. He looked back at Phil. “Why should I trust you?”

“Nick is one of my oldest friends,” Phil said. “We went to war together when we were a little younger than you, and he’s stuck by my side ever since.”

“Says the guy who kidnapped me from an alley,” Clint muttered. His face was covered in a sheen of sweat.

“Them’s the breaks, kid. Cheese was only trying to save your life. Now,” Nick stood up and stepped around from behind the desk, “you can either imprint on me and get a whole new life. Or, if you prefer, we can end this. We can make it quick and easy so you won’t feel a thing. But that would be it.”

Clint licked his lips. “What about…” He turned to look at Phil.

“No.” Nick’s tone made Clint turn back. “Phil doesn’t take newbies, and he doesn’t do imprints.” Nick cracked a rare smile. “He likes to think of himself as a free agent, kind of a lone wolf, but don’t tell him I said that.”

Phil rolled his eyes.

“Now, what do you say, kid? You want to give this a try?”

Clint took a deep breath. “Yeah.”

“Then come here.” Nick opened his arms, and Clint stepped forward. He almost seemed to melt against Nick’s chest with the full body contact. Nick took in the state of his neck with a frown and shared a look with Phil. 

“Just so you know, this is going to feel worse before it gets better,” was all Nick said before his jaws closed over the bite.

Phil waited in solidarity for his friend and the fledge he had found through what was normally a private moment. Clint shouted and struggled in Nick’s arms for a moment as Nick reopened the bite. Then Clint relaxed as Nick set to closing it properly. Phil thought he could pinpoint the moment when Clint passed out. Nick didn’t rush, balancing Clint’s weight until he was done. Then he picked the young man up in his arms.

“When will you stop bringing your problems to me, Cheese” he sighed.

“I knew you could do it,” Phil said. 

“One of these days, you could take a fledge yourself,” Nick said, looking at him pointedly. 

“No,” said Phil shortly. “I won’t do that anymore, Nick.”

“Too late for this one, anyway,” Nick said with a glance at Clint. He looked back at Phil, an appraising look on his face. “You sure it’s not something else that stopped you?”

“It’s nothing, just a trick of the night,” Phil said. “I’m sure it’ll be gone by morning.”

“Heh,” Nick said. “Don’t lie to yourself, Cheese.”

Phil looked down at the unconscious man in Nick’s arms. After a moment, a thought occurred to him.

“He looks a little bit like Rogers, don't you think?”

Nick sighed. “Yes. It’s time to put a stop to Rumlow’s exploits. His obsession has gone far enough.”

“Too far if he turned a human without consent and then just left him there. Clint said Brock bit him outside a bar. He wasn’t near any bar when I found him.”

“I should have listened to you when you said to keep a closer eye on him,” Nick said heavily. He shifted Clint in his arms. “I’m going to put the kid to bed. Tell everybody no interruptions unless the world is ending. And bring my coffee,” he called over his shoulder as he headed down the corridor.

Phil watched them go, wondering what new trouble he had just brought to Shield.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd as usual. Please let me know if you see something.
> 
> I do have plans for this story, but life is a little hectic right now--I'm both job hunting and moving states--so I'm not going to promise any timelines.

They all took turns manning Nick’s office while he was holed up with Clint. Usually when someone took a new fledge, they were prepared ahead of time. And usually it wasn’t someone so important to the running of the haven as Nick. Phil put the word out right away that he was indisposed, and Maria stepped up to take first shift. Phil also—quietly—put the word out that he wanted to be notified when Rumlow returned to Shield.

Two days after he had brought Clint in, he tracked down Rogers because there was still no news.

“Steve,” he said when he found the man down in the dining hall, “anything on Rumlow yet?”

“No,” said Steve grimly, setting down his coffee cup. “I don’t think he’s heard that we’ve got a watch for him. But he’s probably keeping his head low. Especially if he’s heard the story that Fury has a surrogate fledge. He’ll want to keep his name out of it if he can.”

Phil frowned. “Is that going around?”

“Yes,” Steve said. “Fury hasn’t sired a fledge in decades and people are used to seeing him around Shield. He’s also asked for some help with Clint, so yeah—word’s getting around.”

Phil bit back the idea of worrying about Clint. It wasn’t surprising or even unusual that a vampire would need assistance with an incubus fledging. While their species were well enough related that the surrogacy would take, incubi lived off sex and warm bodies and hot living energy. Nick, long dead and blood fueled, could only help him so much with that part of it. From what Phil had heard from other incubi, sex with a vampire might be pleasant for them, but it was never satisfying to their hunger. Phil could relate when it came to his own hunger. Live and human was always best. They had all ignored the trail of humans and succubi and incubi that had wandered in out of Nick’s quarters over the last few days. After all, it was only polite.

“I don't think Nick’s ready to leave his quarters, but I want to see if we can flush Rumlow out before then,” Phil said.

“What do you have in mind?” said Steve, sitting a little straighter.

“I want you to go and flirt with your least favourite billionaire. Rumlow can’t stand seeing you with that crowd; it should bring him out of the woodwork,” Phil said.

“I can hardly stand that crowd,” Steve said. “You’re gonna owe me one, Coulson.” 

“I can live with that,” Phil said, smiling with his teeth bared.

Steve smirked. “I guess I’ll text Tony and tell him how much I’ve missed him. I’ll keep you posted with what we work out.” 

“Thank you, Steve,” Phil said. 

Phil left the details in Steve’s hands, knowing it would be taken care of quickly and quietly.

\---

Nick actually emerged from his quarters the next day. Phil was sitting behind Nick’s desk when the man himself entered the office and dropped into one the guest cars. Phil took one look at his face and quietly summoned a cup of coffee from the dining hall. Nick made a face, but he drank it. 

“Why do you always have to bring me these things, Cheese?” he said, but Phil could tell he wasn’t serious.

“It’s because I know you can handle them,” he said. “Any trouble with Clint?”

“We’re over the worst part. He’s still got a few more days and a lot to learn, but I think he’ll make it.”

“Good,” Phil said. 

It was always a risk that was run with fledges who were turned against their will. Some went feral and became a danger to others. There were others couldn’t accept the change and turned that destruction on themselves. The rules that Shield and other such communities had in place were created to try and prevent such occurances.

“Any news on Rumlow?” Nick asked.

“Not yet. I have Rogers working on it though.”

“Good.” Nick smiled, showing far too many teeth. “I want to know when he’s brought in, even if I’m with Clint.”

“As you wish,” said Phil, with a smile of his own.

Rumlow had a history of causing trouble and a penchant for nastiness. Though it was something that hadn’t been acceptable for centuries, Phil had no doubt Rumlow had bit Clint and set him loose just to see what kind of havoc he could cause. If Clint hadn’t been found, his body would have rejected the turning. The half finished incubus magic would have started drawing in humans and draining them, but with no Sire, Clint would have had no way to channel the energy. He could have killed a few dozen people before the magic reached its peak and burned through his body. Phil had seen incubi die that way before, and it was agonizing.

That’s why the charge of abandoning a fledge was taken so seriously. It was cruel and it was dangerous. Not just for the humans who got caught up in it, but also because it reminded humanity of their existence and forced the whole community into deeper hiding.

“Cheese, if you think you can stand it, I want you to come see Clint tomorrow. He’s told me some of what happened with Rumlow, but I want you to hear it from him, just in case there’s anything that might help,” Nick said.

“Of course I will, if you think it will help.”

“Glad to see you won’t let feelings get in your way.”

Phil frowned. “I don’t have any feelings for Clint Barton.“

Nick gave a dry laugh. “Phil Coulson, having emotions over a stray he found in an alley and brought to a shelter to be nursed back to life? Phil Coulson having feelings about a pretty young man he met late one night? Certainly sounds like the Phil Coulson I remember.” His look turned serious. “You’d do us all a favor it you let yourself remember it too.”

Phil sighed, feeling his years and tired of the argument. “People change, Marcus.”

Nick pushed the chair back and stood up.

“Yeah, and people get over shit too.”

Phil knew he wasn’t imaging Nick’s coat billow out behind him as he left. That sonuvabitch had always had a flare for the dramatic.

\---

“Clint, how much can you tell me about Rumlow?” 

The three of them were in the little parlor in Nick’s quarters, sitting on the antique furniture that Nick had carted around for nearly 300 years. Nick was guzzling a triple shot latte that Phil had brought him, while Clint and Phil had regular coffee.

“Not much,” Clint said. Phil was glad to see with his own eyes that Clint was doing better. He looked stronger, and his skin was starting to get the glow that a healthy incubus should have. “What do you want to know?”

“Was the bar the first time you saw him?” Phil asked.

“No. I had seen him on campus a few times.”

“Did you think of him as a friend?”

“Nah.” Clint was fiddling with the cup and not looking at Phil.

“Clint. I’m not trying to judge anything you did,” Phil said. “What Rumlow did goes against our rules here. He was in a position of power and he knew better. We need to know what happened in order to determine what consequences he’ll be facing. And also to make sure no one else is in danger.”

Clint stayed quiet for minute.

“We weren’t in the same class, but we had classes that ended at the time. I’m a couple years older than most of the students, so the fact that he was older didn’t bother me. I didn’t know him, but I thought he looked hot. And then when I saw him at the bar…well, we flirted for a while and I just wanted to go for it.”

Phil nodded. “Did he ever try to get you alone when you were on campus?”

“No.” Clint shrugged. “We talked a little, but we were both busy and it never went anywhere.”

“Do you know if he was close to anyone else?” Phil asked.

Clint’s eyes went a little wide. “I don’t…I don’t think so. But I’m not sure. I never really thought about it.”

“That’s ok, Clint,” Phil said. He leaned forward. “We’re checking, discretely, with the university to make sure no one else has disappeared or anything else that might be suspicious. I just wanted to hear the story from you in case there was anything I was missing.”

A chime rang, announcing a visitor. Nick excused himself and went to answer it.

“Did Brock really just disappear after what happened?” Clint asked.

“Yes,” said Phil. “He knows he’s in the wrong, and he’s gone to ground. But we’ll find him.”

“Are you really going to arrest him?” Clint asked.

“Yes. He’ll be brought into custody,” Phil said. He sipped his coffee while Clint digested that information. 

There was a quiet knock on the sitting room door and Nick stepped inside.

“Clint, I have someone for you to meet,” he said. 

Clint got up and started to the door. Then he stopped and turned to back to look at Phil.

“I just wanted to say thank you. For bringing me here. Nick explained what could have happened and I didn’t…I could tell out there I didn’t have much longer. I’m glad I decided to come with you.”

And with that, he left the room. From the doorway, Nick gave Phil a pointed look before leaving him alone in the parlor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: We'll catch up with Katie-Kate
> 
> The next chapter is currently in the works.


End file.
